Periodizing Andean Colonialism: A Comparison of Archaeological and Historical Data From Markaqocha, Cusco, Peru

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Lost in Transition: Social and Political Changes in the Central Southern Andes from the Late Prehispanic to the Early Colonial Periods" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This paper assesses the problem of materially distinguishing between the Andean Late Horizon Inka Empire (ca. 1450-1532 CE) and ensuing Spanish Colonial Period (1532-1824 CE) in contexts that lack overtly colonial artefacts. The arrival of Spanish conquistadors in the Andes, and subsequent conquest and colonization of the region, is frequently framed as a cataclysmic rupture, a singular historical event, or a rapid transition. This paper uses data from the Cusco area site of Markaqocha to examine such characterizations. A comparison of archaeological, historical, and paleo-environmental data from Markaqocha demonstrates that while the population living at the site participated in drastic cultural change under colonialism, these changes were not always materialized in ways that align with the historical events that dominate periodization, and were accompanied by notable continuities in practice. This suggests that for Markaqocha's residents, the "rupture" of the colonial transition was experienced by fits and starts for centuries after the arrival of colonizers. These data emphasize the importance of considering the variability of historical transitions at local scales, accentuating that what constitutes chronological rupture, historical event, or material transition is highly dependent on daily lived experience.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Lost in Transition: Social and Political Changes in the Central Southern Andes from the Late Prehispanic to the Early Colonial Periods   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24651